A little piece of Hawaii came to the White House's back garden on Thursday courtesy of Washington's most famous resident, President Barack Obama.

The US leader turned the traditional annual picnic for members of Congress and their families into a Hawaiian luau party, bringing in straw huts, hula dancers, tiki torches and potted palms to put a tropical twist on the day.

"You've been working hard, I wish I could give you all trips to Hawaii," the dad-of-two told guests. "But I figured since, given our budget crunch we cant do that, that we'd at least bring Hawaii to you."

With colourful leis adorning their necks, First Lady Michelle and the couple's daughters Sasha and Malia got into the spirit of things. But really throwing himself into the festivities was Mr Obama.

Greeting attendees with shouts of "aloha", the casually dressed president was spotted boogying with his youngest daughter Sasha, eight, who was clearly revelling in spending time with her dad.